“My heart goes out to the rowers’ Russian fans, who are increasingly subjected to acts of hatred and discrimination that shouldn’t be tolerated in any society anywhere across the globe.

The fact Russian customs rejected our calendar is nothing compared to the suffering some LGBT+ people face every day, but it acts as a signifier of the wider problem.

If they can’t cope with a few naked bums, then frankly that’s quite sad.

With the rise of Putin’s brand of populism around the world, we have never needed straight allies like the Warwick Rowers more than we do now.”

This is far from the first time Russian banned products promoting the LGBTQ community: FIFA 17 was banned after players were allowed to dress their soccer team in rainbow-themed attire as part of Rainbow Laces campaign, which strives to erase homophobia in football.

Kieran

Bryguyf69

Well, I guess it’s poetic justice then that Russia has been banned from the 2018 Olympics. The severity of this punishment is unprecedented. The NY Times writes, “Russia’s Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country’s government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound.

Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.”

On a related note, it’ll be interesting to see if the IOC will ever have any official acknowledgement of it’s LGBT athletes. Normally, I’d say that it’s unnecessary since it doesn’t generally recognize any specific demographic. However, the IOC singled out the Gay Olympics in a copyright lawsuit, forcing it to be renamed the Gay Games. The Special Olympics, for example, as well as various animal Olympics, were not sued. Furthermore, transgender athletes have become news sporadically in the last few years. Whether they should compete as male or female is a legitimate issue, independent of homophobia. Is it fair for a MtoF trans athlete to compete against other females when she still has the strength and stamina of males? How about the use of testosterone, which is currently banned? Furthermore, Olympian Bruce Jenner has added very high visibility to the issue. I think it’s just a matter of time before the IOC will issue an official statement on the matter.